Make-up menace

Young girls should refrain from dabbing too much make-up in their quest to look attractive.

Do you have a tendency to go overboard while dabbing your favourite perfume on your wrist or your favourite foundation on your face? And do these leave you coughing or itching every time you wear them? About time you got careful.

A recent study by Washington-based Environmental Working Group (EWG) claims that beauty products such as mascara, eye shadow, perfumes and foundation contain dangerous chemicals that lead to cancer, infertility and hormone imbalance.

The study conducted on girls aged between 14 and 19 years found all the beauty products they tested contained chemicals such as phthalates, triclosan, parabens and musks, which could be dangerous. These chemicals have been linked to cancer and hormone problems in the past and scientists fear they may even being linked with depression.

This study states that younger the girl using make-up, graver the danger. “By the time most girls become teenagers many have a daily make-up ritual,” says Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “As the layers add up, so does exposure to dangerous chemicals and that’s very bad news for a young girl’s health.”

“There are many chemicals that can cause severe skin damage and even cancer. But it is not possible for people to go through the contents and identify them,” says Dr Tanvi Pal, dermatologist, BL Kapur Memorial Hospital. “One must purchase products that have been dermatologically tested or are of a known company. Teenagers must not be tempted into purchasing products off the shelf because they are cheap.”

In course of the study it was found that youngsters generally use around 17 personal care products each day such as nail polishes and hair dye, where as adult women use only 13.

“In Delhi, many girls complain of acne problem which can largely be attributed to the products they use as these block pores of the skin. Most chemicals used in make-up are properly researched and are used in proportions that are not harmful to the skin,” says Dr Anil Agarwal, dermatologist, Paras Hospitals. “What young girls get are contact allergies and problems due to lack of beauty parlour facials that can be attributed to lack of proper maintenance and hygiene. A large number of young girls complain about skin ailments and these are also because they are over zealous with the desire to look good and this has to be pointed out to them by skin doctors.”

With inputs from PTI